Where are all the higher divisional teams?

when did paintball become about making money? i can honestly say between practices and tournements and markers anything really to do with this sport ive spent enough to buy a car easily (even with sponsors and deals that ive gotten through the years)i spend because i love it and i see it being worth it

The first gating factor is people to run the team. You need Dave Painter's and Anthony Vitale's and George Zervas'. Without them, all you have is players, and 10 players with a van full of gear end up at Wendy's, not at a tournament.

The second gating factor is money. You want to compete with the top teams, you best have $50K MIN to play with. And that's just so you can practice and get to events. You'd still have the big boys trying to grab your talent because they can offer SOOOOO much more.

Now, that $50K can come from the players, but that just makes it harder to retain talent.

i was waiting to you to chime in on this. although i thought you would of went in a little more depth then you did. obviously you are right on the money when it comes to this because youve gone through it.

the upper divisional teams can come about, but i think alot of the kids who are still left from the days when those teams were around have been spoiled. we used to get our **** for free, or our tournies paid for or our gear and paint for free etc. it become the norm for alot of players *hell it did for me to a certain extent too* and nobody ever wants to go from receiving all that for free to having to pay for it again.

the younger kids who are around either dont want to push hard enough because they dont have much to aspire to, or they just cant afford it. its obviously a vicious cycle. but if you get together with a stein or a painter or a georgie or necco then youve got a chance to really make something of it. but the majority of those guys are over the bs and dont want to take on the stress that is trying to get upper teen/early 20 year old males to cooperate and not look out for themselves only.

No more depth necessary, really. You can talk about the need for organization (provided by the management) or money (either provided by management or, at least, managed by management) or better practice opportunities (set up by management) or the right attitude (management), etc... The only factor that isn't the responsibility of management is the weather. So why fuss with the details. It all comes down to the person running the show.

Most of the people from the "good old days" are gone, and the decreased sponsorship probably has a lot (a lot) to do with it. And in the new world order, the attitude that lead to great players back then leads to unjustified and prohibitively expensive attitudes of entitlement now.

VICIOUS, Heat, X-Factor, Impact, 187 cRew, CEP (and probably some random teams from NPPL, but I don't care abou that league)... They all exist because of a dad who has the money to make it happen. All the other teams have an angel behind the scenes who's funding them also.

So, I'll alter that tip: Either find a kid with a rich dad, or make friends with a rich person who already has enough boats and cars.

If you can't do that, then just play with your friends and have fun doing it!

And here's another point I'll get on my soapbox and make a public statement about. Don't jump into the deep end. Learn to swim in shallow waters first.

I've already talked to a bunch of the guys on the Bandits (many being old teammates and friends of mine) and advised against playing D2. That roster is not ready for D2. If you want to build a solid team, go play D3, and win. When you win D3, move up to D2. Build on success.

A lot of paintballers don't think about the benefits of climbing the ladder. They just want to take the elevator to the top. Well, when you get there, all you're going to find is that you have to fight for your life. Look at all the teams that have moved up to PSP Pro over recent years and how hard it is to fight your way out of prelims, even.

So, why rush to get there? Enjoy the climb to the top. Play through the divisional system and have fun winning!